D'Mante Stevens lives his life under many aliases'; most often Ty'quan (TQ), Chill, or Mante. Having grown up in Miami to a life of drug dealing, D'Mante uses a stint in jail to become educated in business and finance. We join D'Mante and his long-time friend and business partner, Japhier Poitier (Jap), in the midst of their ensuing career as confident tricksters with a broad network of interests and clients. Their main line of business is seducing women; then persuading them to part with their money. We see an intriguing conflict develop in D'Mante's character alongside the main plot: his requited love for the beautiful Lauren clashes with his seedy occupation. The main storyline is triggered when D'Mante steps up to save the life of Jap's cousin, Rouseau (Rou). Rou has angered D'mante's ex-gang, The Clover Leaf Boys, by doing business on their turf and D'Mante uses his connections to avert Rou's murder. The grateful Rou then teaches D'Mante the details of a bogus-checking scam. Rou and D'Mante thereby become competitors and a downward spiral of greed, betrayal, and revenge ensues. Although D'mante and Jap rapidly become wealthy with their occupations, they recognize Rou as standing in the way of greater success. When D'Mante finds that Rou has been buying checks from his associates behind their backs, he plans and execute a scheme to cripple Rou, with the help of some of The Clover Leaf Boys. When Rou discovers that D'Mante was responsible for the temporary downfall of his business and finances, he initiates a sickening revenge on his two rivals. However, D'mante has other problems in the form of his deteriorating relationship with the love of his life Lauren. The story ends with D'Mante at the pinnacle of his hubris. His associates are, one by one, facing the inevitable consequences of their deceitful activities. Unbeknownst to him Lauren becomes engaged, relinquishing her love in favor of security. In the final scene, we see D'mante agreeing to a meeting arranged by Rou. Having ridden the rollercoaster of D'Mante's success, the reader is left with a strong mixture of conflicting emotions as we watch the unwitting protagonist heading for destruction